Hal Leonard and Premier Guitar Team Up to Re-Launch Guitar Edge Magazine as Multimedia Network

New Joint Venture Will Position Guitar Edge as Leading Resource for Tab, Artist and Gear Content

PRLog - June 3, 2009 - Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music print publisher, and PremierGuitar, the fastest-growing guitar media company, have announced the formation of Guitar Edge LLC, a new joint venture company created to expand and enhance Guitar Edge magazine as a multimedia resource for guitarists. The announcement came from Jeff Schroedl, VP of pop and standard publications for Hal Leonard, and Premier Guitar CEO Peter Sprague. The more robust Guitar Edge will make its debut with the September 2009 issue.

Published by Hal Leonard, Guitar Edge magazine burst onto the scene in July/August 2006 with the telling tagline “Less Talk, More Tab.” The magazine specializes in providing accurate transcriptions in standard notation and guitar tablature for the hottest songs in all styles, along with artist features, performance tips, and gear information. Guitar Edge will be published monthly in a complete digital edition – which will feature viewable tab for ten free songs – and will continue as a bimonthly print magazine.

The new Guitar Edge will attract readers via the four-platform multimedia model pioneered by Premier Guitar. This forward-thinking strategy – featuring a print magazine supported by a free online magazine, website and weekly e-newsletter — has gained Premier Guitar a devoted and deeply engaged international audience. Together, Guitar Edge and Premier Guitar expect to reach the largest audience of guitarists of all ages and abilities, serving both companies’ enormous number of readers and customers.

Guitar Edge will benefit from collaboration between the editorial staffs at both companies. Naturally suited for multimedia distribution, the magazine’s exclusive content will reach a greatly increased audience via Premier Guitar’s digital distribution resources, and Hal Leonard’s unparalleled distribution network of music retailers and consumers. Current subscribers to both magazines can opt-in for the new, free-of-charge Guitar Edge digital content, as can any interested guitarist who responds to offers to do so.

Sprague comments on the deal, “We are very honored that Hal Leonard has chosen Premier Guitar as their partner in developing this exciting new multimedia resource for guitarists. There are tremendous synergies between our businesses, and we look forward to extending our collaborations to a host of new initiatives.”

Schroedl says, “With its editorial focus on gear, Premier Guitar reaches players at the top of the pyramid in terms of playing experience, while Guitar Edge skews toward a younger demographic, so the magazines are truly complementary. Premier Guitar has created an outstanding model for multimedia distribution of content. We’re confident that Guitar Edge will find great success in emulating the Premier Guitar delivery models.”

Schroedl adds, “We are also pleased to provide an additional revenue stream for our publishing partners. Publishers will be paid based on page views whenever readers of the magazines view the free tab songs online.”

About Hal Leonard CorporationFounded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation (http://www.halleonard.com) is the world’s largest music print publisher, producing songbooks, sheet music, educational publications, reference books, DVDs, CD-ROMs, children’s music products and more. In its more than 100,000 available publications, the company represents in print some of the world’s best known and most respected publishers, artists, writers and arrangers. Hal Leonard is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and also has domestic offices in Winona, MN; New York; and Nashville; and offices abroad in Australia, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

About Premier GuitarOffering guitarists a multimedia source for news, gear information and education/instruction, Premier Guitar (PG) is the place for players who are serious about their tone. The gear-centric print magazine has a monthly circulation of more than 30,000, complemented by three additional components: the industry’s only complete, freely accessible online magazine (http://digital.premierguitar.com), which attracts 35,000-plus monthly visits; a website (www.premierguitar.com) that attracts more than 350,000 unique visitors per month on average; and the Backstage Pass weekly e-newsletter, boasting over 60,000 opt-in recipients. PG also operates the interactive Gear Search service (www.premierguitar.com/gear/gear_search.aspx), where 200,000-plus monthly visitors find, buy and sell more than 35,000 pieces of musical equipment. Published by Gearhead Communications, LLC, Premier Guitar is employee-owned. The company is based in Mount Vernon, Iowa with offices throughout the US.